Right to Information

Overview

The Right to Information Act 2009 provides members of the public with the right to obtain information held by public authorities and Ministers.

By doing so, the Act aims to improve democratic government by:

increasing the accountability of government;

increasing the ability of the public to participated in government decision making processes; and

acknowledging that public authorities collect information for and on behalf of members of the public

The Department of Justice is a public authority under the Act.

The Act provides that information will be released through the following methods:

required disclosure

routine disclosure

active disclosure

assessed disclosure

Required disclosure

Required disclosure is disclosure required by law, including under an enforceable agreement. An example is the requirement to publish an annual report, or a decision made under an enactment.

Routine disclosure

Routine disclosure is the disclosure of information which a public authority decides may be of interest to the public. An example of this might be a discussion paper in relation to a proposal for statutory reform.

Active disclosure

Active disclosure is the disclosure of information in response to a request made other than by way of an application for assessed disclosure. An example is the provision of information to a citizen in response to a letter.

Assessed disclosure

Assessed disclosure takes place as a result of a formal request through an application to the Department to release information. Assessed disclosure of information should only occur as a last resort as the Act as the Act requires the Department to put processes in place to make information freely available to the public through required, routine or active disclosures.

Consequently, the information that might be sought though an application for assessed disclosure may well already be in the public domain. Alternatively, the Department may decide to voluntarily release information for which an application for assessed disclosure has been made, without proceeding to a formal assessment of the information concerned.

All information must be disclosed, unless it is exempt information as defined by the Act. Further information on exemptions is contained in the Ombudsman’s Manual.

Prior to making an application for assessed disclosure

Prior to making an application for assessed disclosure to the Department of Justice, you should

check to make sure that application should be made to the Department of Justice and not some other public authority – e.g.

applications for information relating to criminal or traffic matters may need to be made to the Department of Police, Fire and emergency Management;

contact the Department to discuss the information you need and whether information can be released without the need to make an application; and

check to see if the information is already publicly available – e.g. it may be published on the Department’s website – or will be available in the near future.

More information about material which is publicly available is contained in the Sources of Information section below.

Making an application for assessed disclosure

Applications

Prior to making an application for assessed disclosure to the Department of Justice, you should first check to make sure that application should be made to the Department of Justice and not some other public authority – e.g.

applications for information relating to criminal or traffic matters may need to be made to the Department of Police, Fire and emergency Management

Department of Justice Applications for assessed disclosure should be made on the following form:

Fees

Applications must be accompanied by the application fee. This fee is 25 fee units, which is $40.50 as at 1 July 2019 and is indexed annually.

Waiving fees

You can apply to have the fee waived under the following circumstances.

proven financial hardship

Members of Parliament in connection with their official duty

if you can provide proof that the information will be used for the benefit of the general public

Following receipt of an application

Following receipt of an application,

you may be contacted to confirm the exact nature of the information being sought;

searches will be undertaken to identify what information relating to the application is held by the Department ;

the information will be assessed to see whether it can be disclosed or whether it is subject to any exemptions to disclosure under the Right to Information Act 2009; and

you will be advised of the outcome, normally within 20 days, but this may be extended in the event that in the event that the Department has to consult with third parties

In the event that some or all of the information being requested is not released, you will be given written reasons for not disclosing the information to you.

If you disagree with the Department’s decision, you may request the Department to conduct an internal review of the decision. Such a request must be made within 20 working days after notice of the decision is given to you.

If you are still dissatisfied with the Department’s decision, you may request the Ombudsman to conduct an external review of the decision. Such a request must be made within 20 working days after notice of the decision on the internal review is given to you.

Personal Information Protection Act 2004

It is recommended that you contact the Department to discuss whether the application should be made under the Personal Information Protection Act 2004 or as an application for assessed disclosure under the Right to Information Act 2009.

Sources of information

Required disclosure

The Department of Justice, as well as a number of statutory bodies for which the Department is responsible, must publish an annual report. These can be accessed through the Department’s Publications webpage.

These reports typically contain:

information on the Department’ organisational structure;

financial information;

employment information – e.g. the number of employees, type of employees (full time, part time), percentage of male and female employees, employment by age group

contract and consultancies information

key performance indicators

information relating to the administration of the Right to Information act 2009, including the number of application made, granted and refused

Routine disclosure

The Department routinely publishes reviews undertaken into specific areas of its operation. These can be accessed through the Department’s Publications webpage.

Publications of statutory bodies for which the Department is responsible can be accessed through Department’s Publications webpage, or by visiting the relevant statutory body’s webpage

The Department also has a number of operational policies and plans which are available on the Department’s Policy webpage

The Gifts and Benefits Register can be accessed as follows

Gifts and benefits register

2018-19 Gifts and benefits register

1 October – 31 December 2018: No gifts, benefits or hospitality were declared in the quarter that meet the threshold for reporting.

1 July - 30 September 2018: No gifts, benefits or hospitality were declared in the quarter that meet the threshold for reporting.

2017-18 Gifts and benefits register

1 April - 30 June 2018: No gifts, benefits or hospitality were declared in the quarter that meet the threshold for reporting.

1 Jan - 31 Mar 2018: 2 items were declared in the quarter that meet the threshold for reporting. See table below.

1 Oct - 30 Dec 2017: 1 item was declared in the quarter that meets the threshold for reporting. See table below.

1 July – 30 September 2017: No gifts, benefits or hospitality were declared in the quarter that meet the threshold for reporting.

Date of Receipt of Offer

Description of gift, benefit and/or hospitality offered

Reason for acceptance

Person/Organisation offering gift, benefit and/or hospitality

Value of gift, benefit and/or hospitality ($)

20/11/2017

Attended a lunch at a local restaurant with representatives from Department of State Growth and University of Tasmania

Celebrating completion of important project stage

University of Tasmania

$100

19/3/2018

Carol Schwartz spoke at a Property Council of Australia event on 27 March 2018. As speaker, Carol was given an additional ticket to the event which was gifted to a Department of Justice staff member.

Information for each successful bidder and any other bidders that were awarded contracts that were deemed exempt from the Treasurer’s Instructions, including the name of the successful bidder, the product or service provided, and the cost of the contract since 1 January 2015.

A copy of all information relating to external consultants engaged by the department from 1 August 2014 to current. A copy of all information relating to the name of the consultant or firm, the dates of the engagement period, the reason for their engagement, and the total cost of each consultant, including any travel and accommodation paid.

Office of the Ombudsman

Disclosure register

Disclosure register

Interim procedures for disclosing information released in response to Right to Information Act 2009 requests in Tasmania were announced on Tuesday 9 June 2015.

Certain information released in response to Right to Information requests will be published online within 48 hours of being released to the applicant. This only applies to applications received after 9 June 2015. Detailed policies reflecting this change will soon be available.

The new approach makes information released to an applicant available to a wider audience and increases Government transparency and accountability.

Applicants should note that:

if they seek and are granted a waiver of the application fee on the basis of general public interest, and it is determined that the information is in the broader public interest, publication of the released information is likely.

their identity will not be published. The category of applicant will be published, i.e. Member of Parliament, media representative, private individual.

a summary of the application will be published. This gives context to the nature of the released information.

only information that is considered to be in the broader public interest will be published. No personal information will be published.

information of a commercial or confidential nature will not be published.

Category of Applicant

Summary of Request

Information Released

Media

Details of offences that have attracted home detention orders and the special/individual conditions attached to home detention orders

Information for each successful bidder and any other bidders that were awarded contracts that were deemed exempt from the Treasurer’s Instructions, including the name of the successful bidder, the product or service provided, and the cost of the contract since 1 January 2015.

A copy of all information relating to external consultants engaged by the department from 1 August 2014 to current. A copy of all information relating to the name of the consultant or firm, the dates of the engagement period, the reason for their engagement, and the total cost of each consultant, including any travel and accommodation paid.

Right to Information - Whole of Government

Right to Information - Whole of Government

The information provided in this section is designed to help Public Authorities in the Administration of Right to Information.

Delegations

Principal officers of public authorities of Ministers may delegate some or all of their functions powers under section 24 of the Act to another person, where the principal officer or Minister is satisfied that the person has the skills and knowledge necessary to perform those functions or exercise those powers. Sample delegations are included below: